A resource for updates to Currie & Rikhof, International & Transnational Criminal Law, 2d ed. (Toronto: Irwin, 2013), and a forum to discuss developments in the field.

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29 October 2015

New Open-Source Global Corruption Course Book

I am delighted to present a guest blog post by my friend, Prof. Gerry Ferguson of the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, in which he discusses his new open-access textbook on Global Corruption Law, which is available online from the UNODC website and other sources (listed below). I have examined the book and in my view it will be an excellent and valuable resource, both for teaching and just for familiarizing oneself with the international and major domestic anti-corruption criminal regimes. Warmest congratulations to Gerry on this major accomplishment.

For more on transnational anti-corruption law, see Chapter 7 of our book.

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Almost daily, there are reports of corruption in the news, from private associations and individuals, such as FIFA and Sepp Blatter, to corruption in government officials, such as the resignation of Guatemala’s President Otto Perez Monlina after he was accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. Corruption is now an inescapable reality of modern life.

Despite the increasing recognition of corruption, no Canadian law school (except UVic Law starting in September, 2015) has offered a course on global corruption, and relatively few law schools around the world have such a course. My book, Global Corruption: Law, Theory and Practice, was created specifically to address this concern, and to make it easier for professors to offer a law school course on global corruption.

The genesis of this book can be traced back to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which is the agency responsible for promoting the adoption of and compliance with the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Chapter II of UNCAC is focused on Prevention of Corruption. Educating the lawyers, public officials and business persons of tomorrow on anti-corruption laws and strategies is one preventative strategy. Recognizing this, the UNODC set up an Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative (ACAD) to promote the teaching of corruption in academic institutions by collecting and distributing materials on corruption. As a member of the ACAD team, this coursebook is my contribution to that worthy goal. This book is issued under a creative commons license and can be used free, in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes.

The twelve chapters in this book cover various aspects of corruption, from enforcement of corruption laws to promoting integrity in the public service sector. The first chapter sets out the general context of global corruption: its various forms; its extent and nature; its adverse consequences; problems with measuring corruption; and some of its historical, social, political, and economic dimensions. Each subsequent chapter sets out international standards and requirements in respect to combating corruption – mainly in the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the OECD Bribery of Foreign Officials Convention (OECD Convention). Then the laws of the United States and United Kingdom are set out as examples of how those Convention standards and requirements are met in two influential jurisdictions. Finally, the law of Canada is set out.

In many parts, this book covers the international dimensions of corruption. For example, chapter three lays out extra-territorial jurisdiction and examines a state’s ability to prosecute corruption offences that are committed outside their borders. The chapter also discusses the expansive extra-territorial reach of the US under the Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA). Additionally, chapter four discusses the international standards for money laundering covered under provisions in the UNCAC, OECD and Financial Action Task Force (FAFT). There are also separate chapters on the international standards for investigating and prosecuting corruption, as well as on criminal, civil and administrative sanctions for corruption. Another chapter deals with the role of corporate lawyers in advising business clients on necessary anti-corruption practices. Finally, there are four chapters dealing with corruption in the public service sector covering conflicts of interests, lobbying, procurement, and whistleblower protections.

While primarily directed to a law school course on global corruption, I expect that this coursebook, or parts of it, will be of interest and use to professors teaching courses on corruption from other academic disciplines and to lawyers and other anti-corruption practitioners. I would be very pleased to hear from users of this book especially in regard to the inevitable errors and omissions that I have made in trying to describe and comment on the vast field of global corruption.

The book can be found online at any of the sponsors’ websites:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: https://track.unodc.org/Academia/Pages/TeachingMaterials/GlobalCorruptionBook.aspx